Communities Before Corporations: Reform South Africa’s Mining Law for Justice and Accountability

Mining-affected communities across South Africa continue to experience dispossession, pollution, unsafe working conditions, and the unfulfilled promises of Social and Labour Plans (SLPs)[2]. Current mining laws allow companies to operate on community land without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of those directly affected[3]. Many communities live with contaminated water, destroyed land, and abandoned mines while corporations profit[3]. Women, youth, and poor households remain systematically excluded from mining decisions and benefits. Environmental and social obligations under the law are poorly enforced, and corporate violators rarely face real consequences, perpetuating inequality and ecological harm[5].


What We Demand Parliament To Do:
We call on the National Assembly to act urgently and decisively by :
1. Amending the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) to explicitly recognise Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for communities before any mining rights are granted.
2. Strengthening Social and Labour Plan (SLP) enforcement and introducing community-based monitoring mechanisms.
3. Ensuring that environmental rehabilitation and land, water, and health protection are enforceable legal obligations, not voluntary undertakings.
4. Mandating that women, youth, and marginalised groups are included in mining-related decisions and benefits.
5. Introducing penalties and blacklisting for companies that violate laws or abandon mines without proper closure and rehabilitation.
6. Initiating a Parliamentary Inquiry into the social, environmental, and economic impacts of current mining operations and abandoned mines.